elucidate

English edit

Etymology edit

From Late Latin ēlūcidātus, perfect passive participle of ēlūcidō (“clarify”), from Latin ex- and lūcidus (“clear”).

Pronunciation edit

(UK) IPA^(key): /əˈluː.sɪ.deɪt/
(US) IPA^(key): /iˈluː.sɪ.deɪt/, enPR: ĭ-lo͞o'-sĭ-dāt
Audio (UK) (file)

Verb edit

elucidate (third-person singular simple present elucidates, present participle elucidating, simple past and past participle elucidated)

(transitive) To make clear; to clarify; to shed light upon.
Synonyms: explicate, illuminate
- 1803 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter XIII, in Northanger Abbey; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC:
  The business, however, though not perfectly elucidated by this speech, soon ceased to be a puzzle.
- 1960 April 4, “Medicine: Unmasking the Brain”, in Time:
  [P]hysicians at the annual meeting of the American Academy of General Practice were fascinated by a 3-ft. model showing the brain's components in 20 layers of translucent plastic, and wired for colored lights to elucidate some of its workings.
- 1961 July, “New reading on railways: The Locomotives of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway, by D. L. Bradley”, in Trains Illustrated, page vii:
  Another appendix elucidates the S.E.C.R. headcode system.
- 2004 April 13, David Bernstein, “Philosophy Hitches a Ride With ‘The Sopranos’”, in New York Times, retrieved 19 Aug. 2009:
  The new Sopranos volume has 17 essays that examine the television show and elucidate concepts from classical philosophers, including Aristotle, Machiavelli, Nietzsche, Sun Tzu and Plato.